Meanings
- A 2017 glitch where Google Translate generated strange translations for phrases from some languages.
The mystery of Translategate lies in the strange responses generated by Google Translate when users type broken letters or words into Somali Google Translate.
2023 April 27, The Forth, “Translategate: Unraveling the Mystery of Google Translate’s Strange Responses”, in Medium1 more example
The interesting thing is how many of the chunks of “TranslateGate” translation seem to be pulled from documents online — some are even speculating that it might have been pulled from private messages, though Google has denied this.
2018 July 30, Jess, “Creating Affirmations with a Google Translate Glitch”, in Medium - Any controversy involving a mistranslation.
FURIOUS Celtic chiefs have reported Sky Sports to Ofcom after hitting out at the broadcaster’s “inadequate” apology over Translategate.
2020 June 2, Ryan McDonald, “'fake news' Celtic report Sky to Ofcom over interview with Rangers ace Morelos as they blast ‘inadequate’ statement”, in The Scottish Sun
Origin
From translate + -gate. The subreddit r/TranslateGate was created in 2017.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Translategate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Translategate
“Translategate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Translategate. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Translategate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Translategate.
Source: Translategate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.